Polaris Expeditionary Learning School

Address: 1905 Orchard Place, Fort Collins 80521Phone: 970-488-8260

History and Culture
Polaris is the only school within PSD to offer the Expeditionary Learning model. Our K-12 learning community strives to create the ideal environment for development, experiential curriculum, critical life skills, and community connections for students of every background. Colorado standards are utilized to design in depth studies of compelling topics over an extended period of time, also known as Expeditions. At Polaris, the Expeditionary Learning approach creates life-long learners who can think critically, solve problems creatively, and adapt successfully to an ever changing world.

Academics and Activities
Colorado standards are utilized to design learning expeditions across the curriculum at all grade levels. A learning Expedition is defined as “an in depth study, of a compelling topic, over an extended period of time.” In essence, we study fewer topics in depth in order to deepen our understanding of such topics and to transfer the acquired skills to other topics. This teaching and learning process requires students to take personal responsibility for their learning. In addition to emphasizing personal responsibility for learning, Expeditions allow us to break free from textbook learning within many of our classes, assess students in a variety of ways, and interact with field experts on a consistent basis. Polaris implements various assessment tools such as student portfolios, Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) testing, PARCC exams, self-assessments, and “Presentations of Learning” to provide a complete picture of each student’s academic and personal development.